Comparing the features of NAS and SAN:
Both NAS and SAN can offer increased performance over DAS, but the
performance of NAS can be limited by LAN bandwidth constraints.
Both NAS and SAN are far more scalable than DAS. SANs allow servers
and storage to scale independently, while NAS devices incorporate a
thin server.
Both NAS and SAN provide greater reliability than DAS, but SANs can
provide the highest levels of availability by enabling server clustering
and disaster-tolerant configurations without sacrificing performance.
Both NAS and SAN can dramatically reduce storage management costs,
but NAS is generally easier to install and manage each appliance
individually.